11/15/2012

The stunning turn of how this Texas Longhorn QB is in the NFL & the other isn't

IRVING, Texas - You have to think that Vince Young would do just about anything to be Colt McCoy right about now.

On Sunday afternoon at Cowboys Stadium, Colt McCoy will put on a Cleveland Browns uniform and stand on the sidelines to watch Brandon Weeden lose against the Dallas Cowboys.

Colt McCoy will never be a Pro Bowl NFL quarterback, but decent money says he will be in the league for quite a while, cashing six figure checks as a backup. Beats working. Colt was the starter for the Browns last season but became the No. 2 after the Browns went with Weeden.

Vince, meanwhile, needs any check he can these days. He has been out of the league since the Bills cut him before the start of the season.

In a bizarre twist of the former Texas Longhorn quarterbacks, it's going to be Colt McCoy who enjoys the longer NFL career than Vince Young.

In his third season with the Browns, McCoy is now firmly the backup behind the 29-year-old rookie Weeden, who doesn't look like he can play. McCoy was 6-15 as a starter for the Browns, but he is only 25.

"He is being a pro about this and he competes each day," Browns coach Pat Shurmur said on a conference call with FW/d area reporters this week. "He prepares himself like he's going to be the starter each week and he does a nice job trying to prepare Brandon. I've been extremely pleased with how Colt has handled this. As you might expect, it can't always be easy for him but he's handled it like a pro."

McCoy has the look of a guy who is going to stick. He has played, won a few games, and he is not a problem. Not being a problem is key.

McCoy looks a little too small with not quite enough of an arm to be a starter, but has just enough to be a backup.

As the backup it's crucial to prepare, be positive, be a pro, stay in shape, and find the coach who will take you from team to team.

"I've got a great deal of respect for Colt. He helped us win some games last year in a situation that wasn't easy," Shurmur said. "He's a tough guy. He's a very competitive guy. I think he can be a player in this league for a long time."

There is a degree of It's-Who-You-Know to be a backup QB in the NFL. Colt may just have the right makeup to stick in a league where so few guys do. Even though Vince Young has far more natural tools than McCoy, there were too many other things that prevented him from being a backup. Even in Buffalo.